A few things I read about in this reading I actually learned about in my elementary ed class and used throughout my field experience. The first thing Esme discussed was how she got the classroom quiet. All she did was raise her thumb and the kids knew to stop everything and look at the teacher. I used a very similar technique with the kindergarteners last year. I was taught to put up one finger and that meant the kids were suppose to be quiet and put a bubble in their mouth. When one student saw this they would copy me until everyone in the class had one finger up and was quiet. This technique worked really well for me and from the reading you can tell that it worked well for Esme too. Esme also mentioned how a teacher came in her classroom and told her what she taught needed to be fixed. The teacher told Esme that she did not understand why the pictures were so low on the wall. Esme explained it was put at the children's eye level so they could see it. This is exactly what I learned in my elementary education class so it was cool how the book talked about it too. I like a lot of the things Esme does but am not really sure if it would be allowed today as a teacher. She read in a student's journal that her parents did not get her a birthday cake and forgot it was her own birthday. Esme had the student stay after class and lit a candle on a cupcake for the student. I thought this was very thoughtful but am not sure it would be allowed today due to all of the allergies students have today. I also liked how the student was misbehaving so she told him he had to teach the next day but again am not sure if this would really be allowed. Some might find teaching the class fun so will want to misbehave in order to teach for a day which would not be good. I question some of her decisions she makes but overall I think she is a very good teacher.
A few things I read about in this reading I actually learned about in my elementary ed class and used throughout my field experience. The first thing Esme discussed was how she got the classroom quiet. All she did was raise her thumb and the kids knew to stop everything and look at the teacher. I used a very similar technique with the kindergarteners last year. I was taught to put up one finger and that meant the kids were suppose to be quiet and put a bubble in their mouth. When one student saw this they would copy me until everyone in the class had one finger up and was quiet. This technique worked really well for me and from the reading you can tell that it worked well for Esme too. Esme also mentioned how a teacher came in her classroom and told her what she taught needed to be fixed. The teacher told Esme that she did not understand why the pictures were so low on the wall. Esme explained it was put at the children's eye level so they could see it. This is exactly what I learned in my elementary education class so it was cool how the book talked about it too. I like a lot of the things Esme does but am not really sure if it would be allowed today as a teacher. She read in a student's journal that her parents did not get her a birthday cake and forgot it was her own birthday. Esme had the student stay after class and lit a candle on a cupcake for the student. I thought this was very thoughtful but am not sure it would be allowed today due to all of the allergies students have today. I also liked how the student was misbehaving so she told him he had to teach the next day but again am not sure if this would really be allowed. Some might find teaching the class fun so will want to misbehave in order to teach for a day which would not be good. I question some of her decisions she makes but overall I think she is a very good teacher.